Ohio State vacates wins from 2010 football season, places program on probation -

An "embarrassed" Ohio State University is wiping its stellar 2010 football season from the
record books as self-imposed punishment for major NCAA violations.

But it is not suggesting that the team lose scholarships or be banned from postseason play.

In a response submitted today to the NCAA, Ohio State admits allegations that then-coach Jim
Tressel lied and allowed ineligible players to compete by failing to report that they had sold
OSU-issued memorabilia to a tattoo-parlor owner.

Ohio State concedes major violations of NCAA regulations but says it should not face harsher
punishment, because no OSU official other than Tressel was aware of player violations, according to
the response that was obtained by
The Dispatch.

"The responsibility is upon Tressel. No other institutional personnel were aware" of the
violations, and the former coach failed in his obligation to report them, the response says. "The
institution is embarrassed by the actions of Tressel."

The university concedes it is a "repeat violator" of NCAA regulations but contends that its
"corrective and punitive actions are appropriate" and asks that the football program be spared
additional punishment.

OSU also reported that it sought the resignation of Tressel, who departed on May 30. Until
athletic director Gene Smith acknowledged that fact yesterday, Ohio State officials had repeatedly
said that Tressel was not forced out.

In addition to vacating the wins from its 12-1 season along with its Big Ten and Sugar Bowl
championships, the university has placed its football program on probation for two years effective
today, Ohio State reported to the NCAA.

Today's report also reveals that the university has identified one additional football player
who received discounts on tattoos and has declared him ineligible. The NCAA would have to rule on
his potential reinstatement to the team.

The Dispatch reported today that Ohio State is increasing compliance efforts and staffing.
The report to the NCAA includes new restrictions on how and when players receive awards, in an
attempt to ensure they do not sell them.

Players must prove they still have their championship rings and watches and will not receive
other items, such as gold-pants charms for Michigan wins and game-worn helmets, until they leave
the program.

The university also says that at least one compliance officer will travel with the football and
basketball teams to away games to monitor players.

In Tressel's response to the NCAA, he wrote: "Coach Tressel has explained his thinking at the
time, but offers no excuses for his faulty judgment ... (he) has paid a terrible price for his
mistake, losing his job at one of the premier programs in the country."

In a Feb. 18 interview with OSU officials, Tressel said that he understood that, by allowing
ineligible players to compete, Ohio State was "going to get as our works deserve" and that "we were
going to pay the fiddler."

Tressel argues that his "integrity and proven history of promoting rules compliance," combined
with his team's improving academic performance and other factors, should mitigate the severity of
any NCAA sanctions. It also notes that he and his wife have donated $3 million since 2001,
primarily to Ohio State.

The fallout from the scandal has included the resignation of Tressel, the partial-season
suspension of six players, and quarterback Terrelle Pryor's decision to skip his senior season and
turn pro.

Ohio State reported to the NCAA that is continuing to investigate other allegations of player
misconduct that have swirled around the football team and will self-report any discovered
violations. Pryor, who has denied wrongdoing, was being investigated for his use of several cars
during his three years on campus.

The NCAA could take away scholarships and impose a post-season ban on the football program as
additional punishment for its violations following a hearing before the infractions committee on
Aug. 12 in Indianapolis.

Ohio State also could face additional punishment if the NCAA considers it a repeat offender
stemming from violations in a 2006 case by then-basketball coach Jim O'Brien for which the NCAA put
the university on probation for five years.

The downfall of Tressel and Ohio State began on April 2, 2010, when former OSU walk-on
linebacker Christopher Cicero, who is now a Columbus lawyer, sent the coach an email informing him
that at least two players had sold memorabilia to tattoo-parlor owner Edward Rife.

Rife had considered hiring Cicero as his lawyer, but ultimately did not retain him. Cicero now
faces professional punishment for improperly revealing Rife's confidences to Tressel.

"Tressel reported that when he read information in the email about drug trafficking, homicide
and possession of criminal tools, he said 'it was a bad situation that scared him,'" the response
says.

Rife, who has pleaded guilty to marijuana trafficking in federal court, paid the players with
$9,480 in cash and $555 in free and discounted tattoos for items that included gold-pants charms
for Michigan wins and game-worn gear.

In addition to five-game suspensions for the coming season for all but one of the implicated
players, they are paying the university the money they received from the memorabilia sales, in
monthly installments through November.

The report states that players began associating with Rife and his Fine Line Ink tattoo parlor
after a "chance meeting" between him and a couple of players at a Columbus-area nightclub in early
2008.

The first memorabilia dealings with Rife occurred in 2009, but Ohio State should not vacate wins
from that season because no one, including Tressel, was aware of those transactions, the university
says.

The section of Ohio State's response detailing player accounts of their dealings with Rife was
heavily redacted. Most said they sold the items due to personal and family financial hardships.

Tressel did not inform the compliance office or OSU officials that his players had committed
apparent violations of NCAA regulations, and he signed an NCAA form certifying that he had no
knowledge of violations.

He did not directly confront the players about selling memorabilia, but "told them to make
proper choices and be careful with whom they associate," according to the response.

The former coach said he did not disclose the violations because he considered potential
criminal activity and interference in an active federal investigation a higher priority.

The Dispatch reported previously that, although he did not notify OSU officials of the player
misconduct, he shared the information Cicero provided with Jeannette, Pa., businessman Ted Sarniak,
a mentor to Pryor. Ohio State's response to the NCAA concerning contact with Sarniak is heavily
redacted and sheds no light on what Tressel and Sarniak discussed.

OSU officials learned of the violations in December when federal officials told them that
investigators had found player memorabilia when they searched Rife's home during a drug
investigation. Federal officials have said there is no evidence Ohio State players were involved in
drug transactions.